Alternative Agricultural Practices Research Articles

Hydroponic Cultivation of Spices and Aromatics: Techniques, Benefits and Challenges

The global shift towards urbanization, with 55% of the population residing in urban areas and an anticipated rise to 68% by 2050, presents challenges to traditional farming. The increasing world population, further intensifies the strain on available agricultural land due to urban expansion. Climate change combines with these issues, make conventional cultivation more challenging. Alternative agricultural practices, such as hydroponics, gain significance in addressing these concerns. Aromatic and spices have been used for centuries for their medicinal and culinary properties. They contain various essential oils, flavonoids, and other phytochemicals responsible for their distinctive flavour and aroma, as well as their health benefits. The rising global demand for natural products from herbs and spices has led to its market growth. Hydroponics, a technology for cultivating plants in nutrient solutions with or without an artificial medium such as sand, gravel, vermiculite, rockwool, peat moss, coir or sawdust, offers a promising solution. This paper explores the potential of hydroponic cultivation for planting material production, enhancing the yield, nutritional composition, essential oil content and medicinal properties of various spice and aromatic crops, including black pepper, saffron, ginger, garlic, coriander, mint, celery, fenugreek, parsley, thyme, rosemary, green mustard, basil and others. The main challenges in hydroponic production of these crops include high initial investment, precise monitoring and lack of technical knowledge. Hence by reviewing recent literature, this paper aims to provide insights into the classification of hydroponics and its different techniques, benefits and challenges of hydroponic cultivation, various growing media and nutrient solutions used, types of hydroponics utilized and their purposes in the production of diverse herbs and spices. Embracing hydroponic techniques could contribute to sustainable agricultural practices, particularly in urbanized environments where traditional farming faces constraints.

The LTAR Grazing Land Common Experiment at the Great Basin.

The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network (LTAR), through its Common Experiment (CE) framework, contrasts prevailing and alternative agricultural practices for efficacy and sustainability within the indicator domains of environment, productivity, economics, and society. Invasive species, wildfire, and climate change are principal threats to Great Basin agroecosystems. Prescribed grazing may be an effective tool for restoring lands degraded by these disturbances. At the Great Basin (GB) LTAR site headquartered in Boise, ID, our contribution to the CE contrasts a prevailing (PRV), cattle grazing practice of fixed moderate stocking and duration with an alternative (ALT), prescribed grazing practice called high-intensity low-frequency (HILF) grazing where stocking and duration are tailored to suppress invasive annual grass competition with native or desirable plant species and thus promote recovery of rangelands degraded by annual grass invasion and recurrent wildfire. Preliminary results indicate cheatgrass density and fuel height have been reduced in ALT-treated paddocks compared to PRV paddocks. Since its inception in 2014, our GB CE has been a research co-production effort among ranchers, public land managers, and researchers. Future directions for this research will center on expanding the experiment to multiple study areas to better address the scope of the annual grass/wildfire problem. We expect this research will lead to effective and sustainable grazing practices for restoring >41 million hectares of degraded rangelands in the Great Basin and other areas of the western United States.

Disrupted coping and skills for sustainability: A pluralist Heideggerian perspective

What is the ontological significance of sustainability crises – and the struggles to overcome them? Drawing on Heideggerian perspectives – in dialogue with Laclau and Mouffe's discourse theories – I argue sustainability crises become meaningful at the level of everyday experience when they disrupt the flow of ordinary skilled practices and their orientations towards the future. Such disruptions trigger what Heidegger termed ‘anxiety’, which implies an erosion of life's coherence, meaning and purpose. Developing skills to ‘cope’ with sustainability crises may enact alternative ontologies that restore what anxiety threatens; ‘skills for sustainability’ potentially disclose new worlds, meanings, values and goals. I illustrate this through vignettes of individuals transitioning to organic farming in India. I show how disruptions to farmers’ skilled practices triggered anxiety while also prompting the development of skills for alternative agricultural practice. These skills enabled new ways of experiencing worlds, non-human entities and the telos of everyday activity.

‘Cropaganda’: Mythology of Corn Belt agriculture

Even as scholars have increasingly recognized the role of industrial agricultural practices in contributing to non-point source pollution, drinking water in the Corn Belt remains perilously contaminated with excess nitrates, which pose a significant risk to human health and the environment. A recent lawsuit filed by the city of Des Moines, Iowa against three upstream counties over chronic nitrate pollution sparked heated debate around the roles and responsibilities of agricultural production. Drawing on Barthes’ theory of mythology, this paper explores how three core myths influence agricultural management paradigms and practices that contribute to the water quality crisis in Iowa and shape how key stakeholders have responded (Barthes, R. 1972 [1957]. Mythologies. New York: Hill and Wang). This article relies on ethnographic data to explain agricultural nitrate pollution and the stalled progress on water quality improvement. Together these myths draw on post-enlightenment ideas of nature, security, and modernity to perpetuate productivist behavior, claim resources for conventional commodity agriculture, and impede widespread adoption of alternative agricultural practices. By identifying and interrogating each myth, I aim to reveal and complicate the inherent contradictions in its representation of reality to strip it of ideological function and, in doing so, cultivate opportunities to imagine and create an alternative system that benefits both people and the planet.

Unearthing care: Rooting alternative agricultural practices in Norway and Costa Rica

This article contributes to the growing literature on human-soil relations by exploring how care for agricultural soils unfolds among farmers who engage with alternative agricultural practices across different productions and sites in Norway and Costa Rica. These farmers approach soil as a living being and seek to approach care with macro- and microorganisms in response to soil challenges and economic instabilities. The article follows recent literature on soil care in showing how agricultural practices challenge the dominant approach to soils as passive. However, the article argues the necessity of expanding on existing notions of care. This, I argue, involves ethnographically “unearthing” care: unpacking and situating a diversity of soil care practices, their human and other-than-human entanglements, and how these relations are conditioned by environmental, genealogical, sociocultural, temporal, epistemic, economic, and political mechanisms within and beyond the farm. Considering these variables is essential to keep soil care in the emerging literature from following a romanticizing path toward abstract individualism.

Whole soil fatty acid lipidic signature discriminates agriculture intensification in no-till systems

Argentinean farmers are adopting alternative agricultural systems based on diversification and intensification of crop rotations in no-till agriculture in order to improve soil health and recover degraded soils after years of monocropping. This is achieved by reducing fallow periods, increasing the intensity of crop rotations with maize and soybean in summer, and establishing different winter crops, including cover crops. We evaluated whole soil fatty acids (WSFA) signature in agricultural cropping systems with different levels of intensification in three on-farm experiments in Argentinean Argiudolls soils, along an on-field 8-year assay and measuring at 5 and 8 years after the beginning of the intensification. Contrasted treatments were: typical rotation, intensified rotation with cereals and intensified rotation with legumes. They were compared to an implanted pasture, and a pasture converted to intensified rotation. Eight years after the beginning of the trial, the intensified crop rotations were separated from the typical rotation by multivariate analysis of WSFA. This technique was able to distinguish between agricultural treatments with subtle differences in management, separating the intensified rotations, which later showed higher crop productivity. Conversion of pasture back to agriculture showed a delay of three years before changing the lipidic signature according to WSFA-based indicators. The outstanding conclusion is that mono-unsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) are the most relevant fatty acid functional group for land use discrimination, with a similar potency to the whole lipidic pattern. Within the MUFA group, the fatty acids 16:1w5c and 18:1w5c, appeared as potential biomarkers of these alternative agricultural practices.

Intention to Transition: Natural Rubber Smallholders Navigating the Risks of Farming

This study delves into the decision-making dynamics of Indonesian rubber farmers amidst a significant agricultural transition from traditional rubber farming to diverse agricultural practices. Anchored in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Protection Motivation Theory (PMT), this research elucidates the multifaceted interplay of the psychological, social, and environmental factors influencing these transitions. Utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze data from structured interviews and questionnaires, this study presents a nuanced understanding of how a higher awareness of the risks associated with rubber farming negatively impacts farmers’ attitudes, adherence to social norms, and perceived behavioral control. The findings reveal that while heightened risk understanding and threat appraisal motivate a shift towards alternative agricultural practices, factors like community norms and perceived behavioral control significantly deter this transition. This research contributes a novel integration of the TPB and PMT in the context of agricultural decision making, offering pivotal insights for stakeholders and policymakers aiming to foster sustainable agricultural practices and navigate the complex socio-economic landscape of Indonesia’s agricultural sector.

Utilization of Yeasts in Promoting Plant Growth in Acidic Soil – A Review

The ecosystem's biodiversity and soil microorganisms are impacted by the increasing use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, which causes soil acidity and limits the sustainability of agricultural output. The majority of microbial functions in acidic soil are inhibited because of decreasing nutrient cycling and organic matter decomposition as well as diminishing bacterial and fungal growth and reproduction. In light of these growing concerns, the use of microorganisms as bio fertilizers is a recommended as alternative agricultural practice. Recent times have brought about a change in the paucity of study on yeasts and their ability to safely boost plant growth. Numerous works on bacteria have been made available. The primary objective of the study is to highlight the widespread application of yeasts in sustainable agricultural practices to promote plant growth in acidic soils. All of the advantages that yeasts provide may contribute to the growth of plants. Therefore, a thorough investigation into yeasts may be fruitful and offer a sustainable means of boosting agricultural yields that are necessary in acidic soil.

Improving productivity, nutrient efficiency and economics of chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) using phosphate and potassium solubilizing bacteria

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) is a vital medicinal and aromatic plant, widely recognized for its industrial applications. However, sustainable cultivation of chamomile faces challenges due to the excessive use of chemical fertilizers, which can negatively impact soil health and the environment. There is a growing need to explore alternative agricultural practices that enhance nutrient use efficiency while minimizing environmental harm. Field experiments were conducted from 2022 to 2024 at the CSIR-CIMAP Research Centre in Bengaluru to evaluate the effects of phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) and potassium solubilizing bacteria (KSB) on the performance and nutrient use efficiency of chamomile. Various treatment combinations of Recommended Dose of Fertilizers (RDF: 100 kg N, 60 kg P2O5, and 40 kg K2O ha-1) with PSB and KSB were tested, including co-inoculation and sole applications, to determine their impact on plant growth, yield and economic returns. Co-inoculating PSB and KSB with 100% RDF significantly increased plant height (48.09 cm) and branch count (15.43), outperforming RDF alone and other treatments. Sole applications of PSB or KSB with 100% RDF were comparable to 75% RDF combinations. The highest agronomic use efficiency (27.28%) and microbial response (37.49%) were achieved with 100% RDF+PSB+KSB, leading to a 137.49% yield increase. The highest concentrations of key compounds, α-bisabolol oxide B and α-bisabolol, were observed with 75% RDF+PSB+KSB. α-bisabolol peaked in the RDF-alone treatment. The 100% RDF+PSB+KSB treatment achieved the highest net monetary returns (US$ 5110 ha-1) and a benefit-to-cost ratio of 2.41, similar to 75% RDF+PSB+KSB. Overall, 75% RDF with PSB and KSB significantly enhances chamomile performance, increases soil bacterial populations, boosts nutrient mineralization, reduces chemical fertilizer use, and minimizes environmental impact. This approach offers a promising pathway for sustainable chamomile cultivation, leading to higher yields, improved economic returns, and reduced environmental impact.

Microbial Solutions to Soil Health: The Role of Biofertilizers in Sustainable Agriculture

Soil health is fundamental to sustainable agriculture, influencing plant growth, nutrient availability, and ecosystem stability. However, the overuse of chemical fertilizers, monoculture practices, and soil erosion have led to a significant decline in soil fertility, necessitating the exploration of alternative agricultural practices. In this context, biofertilizers—formulated with living microorganisms—have emerged as effective microbial solutions to enhance soil health. They work by promoting nutrient availability, stimulating plant growth, and improving soil structure. This review explores the various types of biofertilizers, such as nitrogen-fixing bacteria, phosphate-solubilizing microorganisms, and mycorrhizal fungi, detailing their mechanisms of action and specific applications in agriculture. Furthermore, the review highlights the numerous benefits of biofertilizers, including their role in reducing chemical fertilizer dependence, enhancing crop yields, and fostering sustainable agricultural practices. Despite their potential, several challenges hinder the widespread adoption of biofertilizers, including limited awareness among farmers, quality control issues, and the need for effective application techniques. By addressing these challenges, biofertilizers can significantly contribute to environmentally friendly farming practices, underscoring their importance in achieving sustainable agricultural systems and promoting long-term soil health.

Calibration and validation of hillslope runoff and soil loss outputs from the Water Erosion Prediction Project model in Minnesota agricultural watersheds

AbstractThere is growing interest in studying the impact of alternative agricultural management practices on runoff and soil loss under future climate change scenarios. In order to address this interest, it is important to demonstrate that runoff and soil loss can be accurately simulated under existing climates based on comparisons between modeled and experimental results. This study calibrates and validates the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model to quantify the accuracy of predicting growing season runoff and soil erosion in agricultural hillslopes based on comparisons with experimental data from five Minnesota hydrologic unit code 12 watersheds. In order to accurately predict runoff and soil erosion in each watershed, the baseline effective hydraulic conductivity (Kbe), interrill and rill erodibility (EIR and ER), and monthly precipitation standard deviations (Pstdev) were calibrated in WEPP using observed runoff and total suspended solids data from five Minnesota Discovery Farms field sites. Before calibration, Nash–Sutcliffe model efficiency (NSE) and percent bias (PBIAS) values for predicted versus measured monthly average total runoff (Ravg‐T), runoff ratios (RRT), and total soil loss were generally not in acceptable ranges. After calibration, the NSE values showed very good fits between measured and predicted monthly Ravg‐T (0.64–0.98), RRT (0.66–0.93), and soil loss (0.58–0.80). PBIAS values were also within acceptable ranges for Ravg‐T and RRT (±25%) and soil loss (±55%), except for RRT at site BE1. NSE and PBIAS values during validation were within acceptable ranges, except for RRT at site BE1. These findings suggest that the WEPP hillslopes calibrated in this study are sufficiently robust to accurately predict monthly runoff and soil erosion in Minnesota agricultural fields during the growing season.

Constraints and Suggestions Regarding Supply Chain of Mushroom Cultivation in Dehradun District of Uttarakhand, India

The cultivation of mushrooms has gained significant attention as an alternative agricultural practice due to its high nutritional value, medicinal properties, and eco-friendly nature. However, the effective management of the supply chain in mushroom cultivation presents numerous challenges. This research paper aims to identify the constraints associated with the supply chain of mushroom cultivation and provide suggestions for their improvement.The study was conducted in 2023 (February – March) in the Raipur block of Dehradun. The data were collected via questionnaire and direct interview from 60 growers and 20 traders. Region was specifically chosen due to the significant presence of growers and traders. The reason behind this selection was the growers' shift towards mushroom cultivation as a result of untimely rains and crop damage. Mushroom cultivation offered a controlled indoor environment, mitigating the risks associated with unpredictable weather conditions. However, over time, both the growers and traders encountered challenges in the management aspects of cultivation, as well as post-harvesting. Grower perceived major constraints were Inadequate supply of spawn at appropriate time, Unfavourable climatic conditions, no cold storage facilities, poor marketing avenues and people regard mushroom as a non-veg food were ranked first. It is therefore recommended that constraints should be checked to maximize the production. To do that, extension agencies should take up skill-oriented training programmes and awareness programmes, cold storage facilities should be provided to accelerate the self-life.

Storying Sensuous Atmospheres of Peaches and Wheat

Policy initiatives, research, and professional advice concerned with sustainable food systems remain largely stuck conceptualising individual consumers as rational subjects in need of technocratic interventions to induce behaviour change. While critical approaches do account for the relevance of socio-ecological, political, and economic circumstances, the affective, sensuous, and im/material relations — sensuous atmospheres — that are indissoluble from everyday life are either left out, or effectively conceptualised as the inert, given background on which life plays out. Taking the imagination as a key political participant in the struggle for a more just and sustainable world, this article aims to ‘story’ the sensuous atmospheres of everyday life in agricultural practice, making sensuous atmospheres visible as the sensory-material substance that socio-ecological, political, and economic formations take. Drawing from sensuous (auto)ethnographic encounters on a farm in northern Italy, I ask: what kinds of stories are the sensuous atmospheres of techno-industrial and alternative agricultural practices made of, what kinds of stories do they tell, and how might they help to imagine new horizons of possibility in the making of more sustainable food systems? I begin the article with a discussion problematising food systems and the inadequate approaches often used to render them sustainable. I then conceptualise the notion of ‘storying sensuous atmospheres’, presenting the sensory ethnographic material in the style of ‘sensuous scholarship’ in which the fieldwork is simultaneously analysed and evocatively storied. I conclude the article by suggesting that the storying of sensuous atmospheres is one strategy to precipitate new horizons of imagining — in food systems and beyond — a more sustainable world.

Impact of agricultural management on soil aggregates and associated organic carbon fractions: analysis of long-term experiments in Europe

Abstract. Inversion tillage is a commonly applied soil cultivation practice in Europe, which often has been blamed for deteriorating topsoil stability and organic carbon (OC) content. In this study, the potential to reverse these negative effects in the topsoil by alternative agricultural management practices are evaluated in seven long-term experiments (running from 8 to 54 years the moment of sampling) in five European countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy and UK). Topsoil samples (0–15 cm) were collected and analysed to evaluate the effects of conservation tillage (reduced and no tillage) and increased organic inputs of different origin (farmyard manure, compost, crop residues) combined with inversion tillage on topsoil stability, soil aggregates and, within these, OC distribution using wet sieving after slaking. Effects from the treatments on the two main components of organic matter, i.e. particulate (POM) and mineral associated (MAOM), were also evaluated using dispersion and size fractionation. Reduced and no-tillage practices, as well as the additions of manure or compost, increased the aggregates mean weight diameter (MWD) (up to 49 % at the Belgian study site) and topsoil OC (up to 51 % at the Belgian study site), as well as the OC corresponding to the different aggregate size fractions. The incorporation of crop residues had a positive impact on the MWD but a less profound effect both on total OC and on OC associated with the different aggregates. A negative relationship between the mass and the OC content of the microaggregates (53–250 µm) was identified in all experiments. There was no effect on the mass of the macroaggregates and the occluded microaggregates (mM) within these macroaggregates, while the corresponding OC contents increased with less tillage and more organic inputs. Inversion tillage led to less POM within the mM, whereas the different organic inputs did not affect it. In all experiments where the total POM increased, the total soil organic carbon (SOC) was also affected positively. We concluded that the negative effects of inversion tillage on topsoil can be mitigated by reducing the tillage intensity or adding organic materials, optimally combined with non-inversion tillage methods.

Sustainable Agro-Food Systems for Addressing Climate Change and Food Security

Despite world food production keeping pace with population growth because of the Green Revolution, the United Nations (UN) State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022 Report indicates that the number of people affected by hunger has increased to 828 million with 29.3% of the global population food insecure, and 22% of children under five years of age stunted. Many more have low-quality, unhealthy diets and micronutrient deficiencies leading to obesity, diabetes, and other diet-related non-communicable diseases. Additionally, current agro-food systems significantly impact the environment and the climate, including soil and water resources. Frequent natural disasters resulting from climate change, pandemics, and conflicts weaken food systems and exacerbate food insecurity worldwide. In this review, we outline the current knowledge in alternative agricultural practices for achieving sustainability as well as policies and practices that need to be implemented for an equitable distribution of resources and food for achieving several goals in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, animal husbandry, particularly ruminant meat and dairy, accounts for a significant proportion of agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and land use but contributes only 18% of food energy. In contrast, plant-based foods, particularly perennial crops, have the lowest environmental impacts. Therefore, expanding the cultivation of perennials, particularly herbaceous perennials, to replace annual crops, fostering climate-smart food choices, implementing policies and subsidies favoring efficient production systems with low environmental impact, empowering women, and adopting modern biotechnological and digital solutions can help to transform global agro-food systems toward sustainability. There is growing evidence that food security and adequate nutrition for the global population can be achieved using climate-smart, sustainable agricultural practices, while reducing negative environmental impacts of agriculture, including GHG emissions.

Goal frames and sustainability transitions: how cognitive lock-ins can impede crop diversification

Transitions towards more sustainable agricultural systems are often characterised by ‘lock-ins’, understood as self-reinforcing mechanisms that reproduce the status quo and impede change. While socioeconomic, technological and institutional lock-ins have been widely used to understand processes of sustainable transitions in agri-food systems, the role of so-called cognitive lock-ins is still under-investigated. In this study, we focus on how institutional settings create cognitive lock-ins in farmers’ decision-making related to the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. We apply goal framing for environmental behaviour and transition theory in explaining how socio-technical conditions may shape farmer’s decision-making. Empirically, we focus on the example of diversifying crop rotations with legumes as an established strategy to increase biodiversity and soil health, and reduce agrochemical use, emissions and pollution, which still remains rare in European agriculture. We use two cases in the Atlantic pedo-climatic region, Cornwall, UK, and Gelderland, Netherlands. Using in-depth interview data with farmers and extensive supplementary secondary data, we explore how context-specific socio-technical settings interact with farmers’ normative, gain-oriented and hedonic goal frames to shape the (un-)desirability of crop diversification with legumes. This creates conditions recognisable as cognitive lock-ins: the context of farmers’ decision-making creates cognitive processes that drastically reduce the perceived viability of alternative agricultural practices. Our findings in this case suggest the framework developed for this study may help to identify regionally specific, as well as common, barriers and solutions to crop diversification and comparable practices that are relevant to transitions towards sustainability in agri-food systems.

Soil carbon sequestration through regenerative agriculture in the U.S. state of Vermont

This study investigates the extent to which land use and management transitions on Vermont’s farmland could sequester atmospheric carbon in the soil. We weigh the sequestration potential of several types of regenerative agricultural practices against both business as usual and afforestation scenarios using the Rothamsted Carbon Model. We split the study area into 13 Ecoregions for a finer spatial scale of analysis, with key climate, soil, and land use data specified for each. Empirical soil laboratory data are used to initialize the model to mirror current conditions under each of three agricultural land uses (crops, hay, and pasture) in each Ecoregion. We consult experts as well as the literature to parameterize the anticipated effects of alternative agricultural management practices on soil carbon inputs. In the simulation runs, we find that all non-business-as-usual scenarios sequester carbon over time, with a higher rate of sequestration in the decades immediately after a land use or management change. Among the regenerative agriculture scenarios, conversion to rotational grazing offers the highest soil carbon sequestration potential, at 1,269 kt, or 5.3% above current stocks after ten years. Of all scenarios, afforestation of farmland to non-harvested forest stores the most soil carbon, increasing stocks by 6.5% after ten years, and continuing to sequester at a high rate many decades into the future. We discuss tradeoffs and policy implications, especially in the context of the 2020 Vermont Global Warming Solutions Act, and suggest that payments for ecosystem services for farmers sequestering carbon may have strategic value.

Managing salinity for sustainable agricultural production in salt-affected soils of irrigated drylands

CONTEXTDeclining water quantity and quality and poor land, water, and crop management practices are leading to increasing soil salinity, land degradation, desertification, and threatening the overall sustainability of the crop production system in irrigated drylands. Assessments of salinity dynamics and sustainability indicators under alternative agricultural practices are needed to identify the right combination of practices that improve sustainability while minimizing land and environmental degradation. OBJECTIVEThe objective of this study was to assess the potential of conservation agriculture (CA)-based practices, water-saving irrigation, water quality, and nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates for improving the sustainability of rice-wheat (RWS) and cotton-wheat (CWS) systems in salt-affected irrigated drylands. METHODSThe study included mixed-method approaches of two years of field experiments, soil profile and groundwater salinity simulation using Hydrus-1D model, and multi-criteria trade-off analysis for the holistic assessment of alternative innovations in RWS and CWS. The treatments in experiments were composed of a combination of CA-based practices, water-saving irrigation and N rates. Fourteen sustainability indicators computed from experiments and simulation were compared to evaluate the sustainability of those cropping systems and to reveal the potential of those practices for improving sustainability. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONSCompared to the initial conditions, the soil salinity decreased in both cropping systems, while the reduction rate was much higher in RWS than CWS (by 28%). In RWS, the conventional treatment had the lowest salinity level, while in CWS, CA (permeant bed + residue retention) had the lowest. RWS raised the groundwater table by 25% compared to CWS. The long-term scenario analysis with Hydrus-1D demonstrated that, with increased irrigation water salinity and soil evaporation rates, soil profile salinity increases by 78% in RWS and 66% in CWS. RWS had a higher net profit (+81%) and soil organic carbon (SOC) (-15%), but lower water productivity (WP) (−147%), nitrogen, and energy use efficiency (EUE) (−46%) than CWS. The CA-based practices in CWS improved sustainability indicators with higher yield and net profit (+20%), WP (+26%), SOC (+456%), and EUE (36%) with decreased soil salinity than in the conventional system. SIGNIFICANCEThe study attempts to assess the effectiveness of resource conservation technologies such as choice of crop species and cropping systems, and tillage and water and fertilizer management practices for improving sustainability. This study showed the significance of agronomic, soil, and water management practices for minimizing soil salinity. Further, the findings from this study strongly demonstrated the role of CA in sustainable agricultural production particularly under CWS in salt-affected irrigated dryland.

Decolonizing agriculture in the United States: Centering the knowledges of women and people of color to support relational farming practices.

While the agricultural knowledges and practices of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and women have shaped agriculture in the US, these knowledges have been colonized, exploited, and appropriated, cleaving space for the presently dominant white male agricultural narrative. Simultaneously, these knowledges and practices have been transformed to fit within a society that values individualism, production, efficiency, and profit. The authors use a decolonial Feminist Political Ecology framework to highlight the ways in which the knowledges of Indigenous, Black, and women farmers have been and are being colonized; a tradition that makes alternative agriculture a predominantly white space. The authors interviewed 10 BIPOC and women farmers in Colorado to understand what values and knowledges were shaping their often-appropriated agricultural practices. Three themes emerged: people, place, and patterns. By centering these values, farmers create relational agricultural practices that support the well-being of human and more-than-human beings. To support the widespread implementation of these practices, food systems practitioners must elevate the voices and knowledges of historically excluded farmers. Only then can truly just and equitable alternative agricultural practices be realized in the US.

Long‐term agricultural practice effects on carbon and nitrogen isotopes of soil organic matter fractions

AbstractUnderstanding the effects of long‐term traditional and alternative agricultural management practice effects on carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling and storage within particulate organic matter (POM) and light fractions (LF) within various soil aggregate‐size classes can be illuminated by isotopic 13C/12C (δ13C) and 15N/14N (δ15N) differences. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of residue level, residue burning, tillage, and irrigation on δ13C and δ15N values of the bulk‐soil, macro‐ (>250 μm) and micro‐aggregate‐(53–250 μm), coarse‐ (>250 μm), and fine‐ (53–250 μm) POM, and coarse‐ and fine‐LF in the top 10 cm following 13 yr of consistent management in a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] double‐crop system on a silt‐loam soil in eastern Arkansas. Various treatment combinations affected (p < .05) δ13C values within the bulk‐soil and fine‐POM, as well as δ15N values within the bulk‐soil, macro‐aggregate, coarse‐LF, and fine‐LF fractions. Averaged across all other field treatments, macro‐aggregate δ15N was greater (p < .01) in the no‐tillage (NT)‐low‐ (3.23%) compared with NT–high‐residue (3.05%) and CT‐high‐ and low‐residue combination, which did not differ and averaged 3.11%, indicating that more labile residue can be achieved in the NT–high‐residue treatment combination. Results showed significant variations in aggregate‐associated δ13C and δ15N, as affected by long‐term residue and water management practices that would otherwise not have been evident from simple, bulk‐soil analysis or a short‐term field study.